Walberg votes against bailout package that clears House

A financial rescue bill passed the U.S. House today, but some Jackson-area leaders don't believe it was the right bill at the right time.

U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, voted against the bill saying it was still a $700 billion, taxpayer-financed bailout.

"I don't think anything really changed so significantly that this bill had to pass today," Walberg said. "We had to do something. The question was would we do something that was right or would we do something wrong. I believe we did something wrong."

Walberg said the bill included some accounting reforms he called for after the House voted down Monday's bill, but it also included too much pork.

Walberg said the bill would be good for the financial markets and for constituents who wanted Congress to do something in the short-term, but he still wants to come back -- either in a lame-duck session or in the next session -- and do more to hold accountable those who brought on the problem: unscrupulous lenders and lax federal overseers.

State Sen. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek, who is running for Congress against Walberg, issued a statement saying he would have voted against the bill, too.